IOWA. 



405 



within the limits of such city or incorporated 

 town." Provision is made for acquiring land, 

 erecting buildings, adopting rules and regula- 

 tions, and doing whatever else is necessary to 

 carry out the objects of the act. Such libra- 

 ries must be open to the free use of every in- 

 habitant of the town in which they are estab- 

 lished, " for the general diffusion of intelli- 

 gence among all classes of the community." 

 The sixth section of the act is as follows: 

 " Any city or incorporated town of this State 

 proposing to accept the benefits of this act, 

 shall, before exercising the powers herein con- 

 ferred, submit to a vote of the people, at any 

 municipal election of such city or incorporated 

 ' town, the question ' Shall- the city ' (or town 

 council, as the case may be) ' accept the benefit 

 of an act of the Legislature for the creation and 

 maintenance of a free public library ? Yes. 

 No.' " 



A general act was passed authorizing "any 

 number of persons not less than five " to " as- 

 sociate themselves together and become a cor- 

 poration as provided in and by the general in- 

 corporation laws of the State of Iowa, for the 

 purpose of raising moneys to be loaned among 

 the members of such corporation, and to other 

 persons, for use in buying lots or houses, or in 

 building or repairing houses, or other pur- 

 poses." 



Among the other acts passed was one for 

 the establishment of another penitentiary, to 

 be located " near the stone-quarries near Ana- 

 inosa ; " one providing for the enlargement of 

 the Institution for the Education of the Blind, 

 and the change of its name to the " Iowa Col- 

 lege for the Blind ; " one establishing a board 

 of Capitol commissioners, with the Governor at 

 its head, to take charge of the erection of the 

 State-House at Des Moines, the cost of which 

 is limited to $1,500,000 ; and one constituting 

 a visiting committee to ascertain the condition 

 and management of insane asylums, and see 

 that needed reforms are adopted. 



An effort was made to carry a resolution 

 submitting to a vote of the people the propo- 

 sition, to strike from the clauses of the consti- 

 tution, relating to the right to vote and hold 

 office, the word " male." The resolution 

 passed the House by a vote of 58 to 59, but 

 was defeated in the Senate, 22 voting in the 

 affirmative, 24 in the negative, and 4 being ab- 

 sent or not voting. 



The Assembly adjourned on the 23d of April, 

 to the third Wednesday of January, 1873. The 

 object of the adjourned session was to com- 

 plete the revision of the code of laws. 



The first political convention of the year was 

 that of the Republicans, held for the purpose 

 of appointing twenty-two delegates to the 

 National Convention of the party. Resolutions 

 were adopted, indorsing the Administration of 

 President Grant, and instructing the delegates 

 to vote for his renomination, and for James F. 

 Wilson as a candidate for Vice-President. On 

 the 23d of April a mass convention was held 



at Davenport, to choose delegates to the Lib- 

 eral Republican Convention at Cincinnati. 

 One hundred and fifty delegates were appoint- 

 ed, and resolutions adopted opposing the re- 

 nomination of President Grant, and pledging 

 support to " any one of the good and able men 

 of the party for the first place in the gift of the 

 people, nominated upon u platform declaring 

 in favor of honesty, economy, amnesty, thor- 

 ough, genuine reform, and the one-term prin- 

 ciple for the presidency." 



The Democrats met in convention at Des 

 Moines, on the llth of June, and appointed 

 delegates to the National Convention at Balti- 

 more. The resolutions favored the indorse- 

 ment of the nominations and platform of the 

 Liberal Republicans made at Cincinnati. 



The Democrats and Liberal Republicans 

 held conventions at Des Moines, on the 1st of 

 August, to nominate State officers. No Gov- 

 ernor or Lieutenant-Governer was to be nomi- 

 nated, and the ticket selected by a conference 

 committee and adopted by both conventions 

 was as follows : For Secretary of State, E. A. 

 Guilbert ; State Treasurer, M. J. Pholfe ; Au- 

 ditor, J. P. Casserly ; Attorney-General, A. G. 

 Case. 



The Republican State Convention met at 

 Des Moines, on the 21st of August, and nomi- 

 nated Josiah T. Young for Secretary of State, 

 William Christy for Treasurer, John Russell 

 for Auditor, Aaron Brown for Register of 

 State Land-Office, and M. E. Cutts for Attor- 

 ney-General. A platform was adopted which 

 eulogized the achievements of the Republican 

 party, indorsed the platform and candidates of 

 the National Convention, and set forth the fol- 

 lowing principles : 



That we are in favor of the most rigid economy in 

 the administration of the affairs of this State and the 

 nation. 



That we are opposed to any legislation, State or 

 national, that tends to unjustly discriminate between 

 individual interests and the interests of corporations, 

 believing that property, whether held by individuals 

 or corporations, should bear its equal and just por- 

 tion of the public burdens. 



That we are opposed to all further grants of land 

 to railroad or other corporations, and that the public 

 domain, which is the common heritage of the people 

 of this country, should be sacredly held by the Gov- 

 ernment for the use and benefit of actual and bona- 

 fide settlers. 



That we hereby indorse the recommendation of 

 President Grant that immigrants be protected by 

 national legislation, and that all efforts on the part 

 of the government of the State or nation to encourage 

 immigration from foreign countries meet our approval, 

 and we hereby commend the labors of the officers of 

 this State in their efforts to encourage and secure 

 immigration to the State of Iowa. 



At the election, the total vote given for 

 President was 202,762, of which the Grant 

 electors received 131,566, and the Greeley 

 electors 71,196. The total vote for Secretary 

 of State was 206,856, of which Young, Repub- 

 lican, received 132,359, and Guilbert, Demo- 

 crat, received 74,497. The Legislature con- 

 tained a large Republican majority, 



